Carriage construction



Jan. 10, 1933. .J. ALEXANDER 1,393,438

CARRIAGE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 19, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7M v v V v 16 52; 41 68 INVENTOR.

' JsseA/exufld'ely A TTORNEY.

p which supports the carriage.

Patented Jan. 10, 1933 1 UNITED. STATES AT T Q F JESSE ALEXANDER, or LosaNenLEs, CA IFORNI ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To w. WJPAYNE, or os ANGELES,"CAL1EORNIA cAnnmen oonsrnncrron Application filed August 19, 1929. Serial no. 386,820.

This invention relates to the carriage of typewriters, and it is theobject of the invention to.provide a simple and durable carriage construction seating firmly on the body of the machine for smooth and quiet running, with the carriage adapted for convenient removal and provided with means, rendering it readily adjustable for. a-lining the platen with respect to the, printing point.

More particularlyit is an object of the invention to mountthe main guiderail for the carriage in sockets which are retractable for releasing the rail, so thatthe guide ra l and the carriage may be removed as a unit from the body of the machine.

It is a furtherobject of the invention to provide for adjustment of the carriage supporting-rollers which engage the guide ralls of the machine, in. order that the carriage maybe bodily adjusted. to properly position the platen.

Further objects of the invention will'be readilyunderstood fromthefollowing description of .theaccompanying drawings, in which:

. Fig. l is a plan View of a typewriter with the platen removed soas to clearly show the carriage construction. 7

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the carriage.

.Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the typewriter on the line 33 of Fig. 1. I

-Fig. 4 is; an axial section through one of the end mountings of the main guidejrail .Themain frame of the machine isillustrated ascomprising side plates 7 connected at the rearby a plate 8 and at the-front by a bar-9, and at anintermediate point by a type segment 10.

The key and type bar action may be of anyapproved construction, such for example as shown my companion application Ser. No. 386,819 filed August 19, 1929, whereintype barsll are pivoted at 12. on the segment 10, and are operated by intermediate levers 13,,which in turnare operated bykey levers 14.

,The carriage of the machine comprises front bar16 and r ear bar 17 connected by end plates 18, and the'carriage' is adapted to travel on front and rear guides which are supported by the main frame of the machine. The rear-guide is a rail or rod 20 supported between end brackets 21 which are mounted on the rear plate 8, and the front guide is a rail or rod 22 mounted between the side plates 7 of the main frame. The rear guide rod 20 serves as the means for confining the carriage to the body of the machine, and for this purpose the, carriage is provided with depending sleeves 23 which guide rail. 1 When the sockets 25 are retracted the guide rod is released from its supporting brackets 21, and the carriage and its guide rail may thusbe readily removed from the body of the machine. Screws 28 or other suitable means may be provided for-retaining sockets 25 in their seats 26 and for preventing accidental retraction ofthe sockets. For this purpose the screws 28 are shown as threaded through the brackets 21 with their ends extending into slots 29 formed in the sockets 25, so that the inner end walls of the slots when engaged by the ends of the screws limit projection of the sockets, and the screws when ti htened in the slots .29. hold the sock ets ineither retracted orprojected position.

The rear portion of the carriageis supported by rollers 31 which ride on the guide rail 20, and the forward portion of the carriage is supported by a roller' 32 which travels on the front guide rail 22. The rear supporting rollers 31 may be positioned at opposite sides of a point midway of the lengthof the carriage, are'preferably independently adjustable on the carriage frame so that the respective ends of the carriage may be independently adjusted with relation to the main frame of the machine. As an instance of this arrangement the rollers 31 are journaled on studs 33 carried by levers 34 which are medially pivoted at 35 to the back bar of the carriage frame, and the levers 34 are held in adjusted position by clamping screws 36 which pass through transverse slots 37 in the ends of the levers. By this arrangement when the screws 36 are loosened the levers 34 may be independently adjusted to raise or lower the respective rollers 31, and when the rollers are properly adjusted the screws 36 are tightened so as to secure the rollers in proper position for leveling the carriage.

The front of the carriage is also adjustable with relation to the body of the machine, and for this purpose the front supporting roller 32 may be carried by a bracket 39 which is adjustably secured on the front bar 16 of the carriage frame by screws 40 extending through slots 41 in the bracket. Loosening the screws 40 thus permits relative vertical adjustment of the roller 32 with relation to the carriage, and after the necessary adjust ment to bring the platen into proper position with relation to the printing point of the type, the screws 40 are tightened so as to maintain the desired adjustment. The rollercarrying bracket 39 is preferably provided with a forwardly extending hooked portion 42 which extends under the front guide rail 22 and thus prevents the carriage from lifting oif the rail.

The platen shift mechanism may be of any suitable construction, and is herein shown as comprising levers 45 pivoted at 46 to the end plates of the carriage frame and forked at their forward ends to receive pins 47 on the end plates 48 of the platen frame. The platen 49 is journaled in the end plates 48 of the platen frame, and the plat-en frame is guided for vertical shifting with relation to the carriage. For this purpose the lower ends of the platen end plates 48 are forked as shown at 50 so as to vertically slidably engage the front bar 16 of the carriage frame, and the platen shaft 51 is vertically slidable in slots 52 in the end plates 18 of the carriage frame. The ends of the platen shifting levers 45 may be connected by a transverse rod 53 which is operatively engaged for tilting the levers by means of a roller 54 carried by a member 55 which is actuated by suitable shift key mechanism (not shown), the shift key mechanism being adapted to lower the roller 54 and thus depress the rod 53 and thereby rock the shift levers 45 for lifting the platen.

The ribbon feeding and shifting mechanism may also be of any suitable construction, with the ribbon 57 preferably traveling from one to the other of spools 58 and guided at the printing point by a shifting guide 59 which may be operated by a link 64. Any

suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism or the i like (not shown), may be employed for turning the ribbon spools so as to feed the ribbon.

The escapement mechanism is shown as a rocker pivoted at 66 and carrying pawls 67 engaging a rack 68 on the carriage; and the rocker 65 and the link 64 which actuates the ribbon lift are operated by a universal bar 60. The universal bar is preferably car- 'ried by arms 61 which are fixed to a transverse rod 62 forming the pivotal support for the key levers 14, and the intermediate levers 13 are fixed on red 62 for rocking the same and thereby actuating the universal bar when the key levers are depressed. A link 63 is connected to the universal bar and is pivoted at 69 to the rocker 65 for operating the escapement, and the link 63 is also operatively connected to the link 64 in order to actuate the ribbon lift.

The tension of the escapement may be regulated by a screw 70 connected to a spring 71 which engages the rocker 65, with the screw adapted to be secured in adjusted position by a lock nut 72.

The invention thus provides a carriage for a typewriter which is so mounted as to permit of it being quickly removed and replaced with respect to the body of the ma chine; and also provides for the carriage being readily adjusted, both for leveling the carriage and raising or lowering it with respect to the printing point. The carriage construction is extremely simple, and the parts are few and of inexpensive construction.

I claim 1. In a typewriter, a main frame, a supporting bracket, a guide rail, a socket seated in the supporting bracket and normally spring projected for engaging the guiderail, the said socket being retractable against the tension of its spring for disengaging the guide rail to permit removal thereof from the main frame, and a carriage traveling on the guide rail.

2. In a typewriter, a main frame, a supporting bracket, a guide rail, a socket seated in the supporting bracket and normally spring projected for engaging the guide rail, the said socket being retractable against the tension of its spring for disengaging the guide rail to permit removal thereof from the main frame, a carriage traveling on the guide rail, and means for securing the re tractable socket in the supporting bracket.

3. In a typewriter, a main frame, supporting brackets on the main frame, a guide rail, sockets seated in the respective supporting brackets and normally spring projected for engaging the ends of the guide rail, the said sockets being retractable against the tension of their springs for disengaging the ends of the guide rail so as to permit removal of the guide rail from the main frame, and a carriage traveling on the guide rail.

4. In a typewriter, a main frame, supporting brackets on the main frame, retractable sockets mounted in the supporting brackets, a guide rail having its ends normally engaged in the projected sockets, and a carriage slidably confined on the guide rail.

5. In a typewriter, a main frame, a supporting bracket, a guide rail, a carriage traveling on the guide rail, a socket seated in the supporting bracket, a spring seated in the supporting bracket in back of the socket and normally projecting the socket for engaging the guide rail, the socket being retractable against the tension of the spring for disengaging the guide rail to permit removal of the guide rail from the main frame, the outer periphery of the socket being longitudinally grooved in spaced relation from the inner end of the socket so that the end wall of the groove forms an abutment, and a retaining element removably projected through the supporting bracket into said I groove and adapted to frictionally secure the socket in longitudinally adjusted position and by its impingement against the abutment end of the groove preventing longitudinal dislodgement of the socket from the supporting bracket.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

JESSE ALEXANDER. 

